BILLINGS — For Mystical Powers, a 12-year-old patron of South Park Pool, summer doesn’t officially start until the pool opens. “I make myself get extra sleep the whole week before so on the first day I can be up early and ready to go!” 

Fellow middle schoolers Marnie Humphrey, Janelle Martinson and Madison Vance can hardly contain their excitement as well. “I will jump right out of my chair on the day it opens,” Marnie said.

The girls are members of Girl Scout Troop 2028, led by Madison’s mother, Lisa Vance, who is also the new chair of the South Side Task Force. Last November, the troop collaborated with local artist Elyssa Leininger to paint a mural of bison and elk on the side of the pool, the words “you are worthy of love & belonging” scrawled across the top, a message that has radiated throughout the South Side community for generations. 

South Park Pool was built in 1914, making it one of the oldest outdoor pools on this side of the Mississippi River. It also happens to serve possibly the most diverse community in Montana. According to the most recent census data, Billings contains the largest portion of Montana’s African American population (20%), Montana’s Hispanic population (18%) and Montana’s Native American population (7.9%), many of whom reside on the Billings South Side at a nearly 2-to-1 ratio when compared to the rest of the city.

But a diverse population often comes with a fraught history, and the South Side is no different. 

Lauren Hunley, a community historian at the Yellowstone Western Heritage Center in Billings, pointed out that South Park Pool is one of the few places in Billings with strong documentation of the discrimination that happened on a regulatory level. “It’s a road marker for the city of Billings and Montana’s racial history,” Hunley said. “This is one of the few areas we can put a pin in and say, ‘Yes it happened here, yes we fought against it and this is how we won.’” 

One key example: While men and women were allowed to swim together upon the pool’s opening — a progressive attitude for 1914 — Blacks were only allowed to swim on Sundays. Walker Browning, a foremost leader in the African American community of the South Side at the time, wrote a letter to the Billings Gazette expressing his frustration with the city’s decision to allow Black residents access to the pool only one day of the week. The Gazette ran the letter the week of the pool’s opening, and the policy remained in place for another 50 years. 

“Everything we have, we’ve had to fight for,” said Jim Ronquillo, a former city councilman who has spent his entire life living on the South Side. “Everything the city has taken away from us, they’ve never given back. We always have to fight to get something back, to keep something that’s ours.”

Now, in 2024, the pool South Side residents have claimed as their own for 110 years is at risk of closing.

The pool has gone through a streak of needing continual repairs, including but most certainly not limited to: the pool liner, the pool heater, the drainage pipes and the circulation pump in 2011, 2013 and again in 2022. While each repair keeps the pool limping along for another year, proponents understand these solutions are temporary fixes. 

“It needs to be completely demolished and redone,” said Mike Pigg, director of Billings Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. “The bathhouse is the main issue. State law requires that we have functioning bathrooms and showers in order to open the pool, and the bathhouse is not in good shape. It’ll open this summer, but I just don’t see how we can put another bandage on it.” 

Pigg has worked at the parks department since 2013 and was named director last June. The disparity between South Park Pool and Rose Park Pool, a pool located in north-central Billings in significantly better condition, has been a top concern of his since taking the position. 

“One of the things I look at is the equity of what we’re providing for the community,” Pigg said. “We’re looking at a low-income area, and we’re providing a pool like this. What does that say about the city? It’s not equitable in any way. We’ve got to do something to make this right.”

A study is currently underway to determine the needs of the city in regards to pools, splash pads and other aquatic needs, with results expected in May of this year. The city council has allocated $400,000 for design costs for South Park Pool, but voters will eventually be asked to fund the construction costs estimated at $10 million.

Finding money for park projects is particularly difficult in Billings. Parks are funded through the Billings general fund, which houses money for parks, public safety (police and fire) and the city’s administration. 

“Public safety takes up about 80% of the general fund, parks another 10%, and administration the last 10%,” said Kendra Shaw, one of two current Ward 1 City Council representatives who oversee South Park Pool. “The admin budget is lean and relatively fixed; there’s nothing substantial there to move over. That leaves public safety, and cutting the police budget to fund parks is a non-starter for most of the community.”

The city also can’t pull money from other departments, such as water, sewer or street funding. This leaves limited options, mainly increased taxes and grants, to cover the cost, and, with the recent increase in statewide property taxes, few levies or bonds have passed anywhere in Montana. Billings’ own parks bond, which included funding for South Park Pool, overwhelmingly failed at the ballot box. 

Residents are hopeful for alternative solutions. Lisa Vance recalled one particular scouting trip to Butte. “There was this beautiful carousel that was donated by people in the city. Even the construction workers donated their time to help build it. I thought, why couldn’t we do that here?” 

In the meantime, South Side residents continue to care for their beloved pool. 

“I hope people will come to see the mural and how pretty the pool is now,” Powers said. 

“I hope someday when I’m older,” fellow Scout Madison added, “I can bring my kids to the pool and show them the mural and how hard we worked. And then we’ll all go swimming together.” 

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